1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to hands/controls protection and accessories mounting on vehicles utilizing handlebars for steering systems.
2. The Description of Related Art
There are many upgrade options available to tailor/improve the utility of vehicles, particularly off-road/dual sport motorcycles. Popular upgrades include, but are not limited to; hand/control guards and fairings, lighting and lighting controls, mirrors and mounts, auxiliary switch mounts, information displays, steering dampers, and handlebar stiffeners. Currently these utility upgrades are principally stand-alone units that generally mount directly to the handlebars with their unique clamping devices. The stand-alone systems are competing with scarce mounting surface available on the vehicle handlebars, which limits potential upgrades. In practice, many operators adjust handlebar clamps to allow mounted controls and/or handlebars to rotate in event of impact rather than bend or fracture. Existing guard designs incorporate simple bars with limited impact coverage and rigid mounting provisions, which restrict adjustment for rider preference and do not incorporate damage limiting energy attenuating features in event of minor impact and generally absorb impact energy through permanent deformation of components. Other guard implementations allow guards to rotate, with limited constraint, on some impacts and may compromise protection and safety. Existing rear view mirror designs are cumbersome, prone to damage and provide degraded reflected images particularly in high vibration environments. Other mirror implementations are fixed non-adjustably to a fairing or provide a simple single rotational degree of freedom, preventing full line of sight adjustment. Existing handlebar to vehicle steering assembly attachment clamps are make and model specific or simple assemblies without features facilitating utility upgrades.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,912 (September 1974, Edwards) presents a simple hand guard with inboard attachment by means of a dedicated clamp on the handlebar. U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,567 (February 1979, Scott) presents protective fairings cantilevered off various configurations of controls clamped to handlebars. U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,661 (March 1984, Cullen) presents simple formed guard with inboard attachment by means of a dedicated clamp on the handlebar. Design Pat. Des 319,992 (September 1991, Acerbis) presents fairings that are clamped to the handlebars. U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,023 (October 2004, Greetis) presents replacement handlebars that integrate mountings and protect cabling for steering mounted controls. Patent application US 2004/0217243 (February 2005, Laivins) presents a universal clamp for inboard attachment of hand guards to the handlebars. Patent application US 2005/0040621 (February 2005, Paris) present a fixed position upper bar clamp guard attachment with integral damper mount.